Former Takano rice clacker shop - A cottage confectionery along the Nakasendo Highway
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| Urawa post town in late Edo period, drown by Eisai Keisai in 1835 |
Urawa, Saitama City was developed as a post town on the Nakasendo Highway, from Edo to Kyoto, in Edo era. According to transport official of Tokugawa shogunate, there was 273 inns on 1.2km part of Highway.
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| Former Takano rice clacker shop, build in 1850's (C) JAPAN a while ago |
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| Inside of Tanaka rice clacker shop (C)JAPAN a while ago |
Former Takano rice clacker shop, built in 1850's, is the oldest extant shop building in Urawa post town. Until late Meiji era, it was used as Hikoyoshi IKeda's umbrella shop. Takano family, rice clacker confectioner, was a neighbor across the street for Ikeda's shop. Takano family started rice clacker confectionery in early Meiji era. Because of thriving business probably, Takayoshi Tanano, the 3rd president of Takano rice clacker confectionery, bought Hisayoshi's umbrella shop as multipurpose house for new shop, cottage factory, and their house.
Takano's production process of rice clacker was as below.
- Washing rice and drying
- Milling dried rice
- Kneading rice flour with boiled water
- Steaming dough
- More Kneading
- Washing dough
- Repeat the process 5 and 6 for 2 or 3 times
- Rolling out dough and diecutting
- Drying dough in the sun for 2 or 3 days
- Heating in hoiro and baking
There were 10 confectioner at the shop, and they started clacker making at 4am, and opened the shop from noon. During and soon after World War 2nd, food shortage age, they worked OEM business that costumers supplied rice to Takano's shop, and they got processing fees. In 1970's, Takano confectionery turned mechanical production. And, at last, they closed their own confectionery in 2000.
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| A clacker box with name of Takano confectionery (C) JAPAN a while ago |
Today, the confectionery is saving as the oldest extant shop building in Urawa post town at the Urawa Museum Traditional Architecture.
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| Former Takano rice clacker shop at the Urawa Museum Traditional Architecture, with a straw-thatched roof (C) JAPAN a while ago |
